Passenger, cuts between two stories set in 1914; the “Pageant of the Melting Pot” ritual held at the Ford factory English assimilation school for Immigrants and the extinction of the last passenger pigeon, Martha. The passenger pigeon was a communal bird that traveled in enormous flocks that turned the sky black, in an almost mystical occurrence. Thought to be an endless resource, the birds went extinct due to the invention of the telephone and its impact on hunter’s ability to track the flocks.
This animation looks at how capitalist industry, ignorance, and opportunity were driving forces for: assimilation of new immigrants into assuming a white racial identity and the extinction of the passenger pigeon.
There are a variety of animation techniques in this including; animated bird seed; cut paper animation using early 1900 advertisements as cutouts; watercolor, oil, and acrylic paintings; puppets; and animated drawing.
This animation looks at how capitalist industry, ignorance, and opportunity were driving forces for: assimilation of new immigrants into assuming a white racial identity and the extinction of the passenger pigeon.
There are a variety of animation techniques in this including; animated bird seed; cut paper animation using early 1900 advertisements as cutouts; watercolor, oil, and acrylic paintings; puppets; and animated drawing.